SURGEONS, nurses and hospital cleaners are among staff being celebrated at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock tonight.

The Staff Recognition Awards celebrate the tireless work of staff across Oxfordshire’s hospitals. And for the first time this year the awards include the title of Hospital Hero, a category run by the Oxford Mail.

In July, we asked readers to nominate their Hospital Heroes, which could be either an individual or a team. The other seven hospital award winners were nominated by fellow staff members.

Of about 11,000 staff across Oxfordshire at the Churchill Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the Horton General in Banbury, nine were shortlisted from those picked by members of the public. The other gold, silver and bronze prizes are awards for compassion, excellence, improvement to service, leadership, partnership, volunteering and teamwork.

The Oxford Mail Hospital Heroes awards were created to help mark this year’s 65th anniversary of the NHS and celebrate the staff that make such a difference to the lives of so many people in Oxfordshire and beyond. Tonight one team will be crowned the Oxford Mail’s Hospital Hero. We meet them here.

TEAM AWARD

  • The John Radcliffe Hospital’s gastroenterology ward 5F.
     

The team was chosen by transplant patient Maxine Hartnett, pictured with team members, who has been treated by staff for more than 15 years.
The 47-year-old from Blackbird Leys, Oxford, said the cleaners, house-keepers, receptionists, healthcare assistants, nurses and doctors treat her as one of their own family.
Ward sister Susie Swan, from Abingdon, said: “We were really delighted and surprised as well.
“There are quite a lot of challenges running a busy ward like this and lots of problems we face on a daily basis – it is not always good news so it is nice to get something positive for a change.”

  • The Renal Unit at the Churchill Hospital.

The team of about 150 nurses and 20 doctors treat patients with kidney problems. Untreated, the problems cause poisons to build up in the blood and lead to death because the kidney fails to filter the blood as it should.
Allie Thornley, 47, right front, is the matron for dialysis and has worked as a nurse in the unit for 23 years. The mum-of-two, from Marsh Gibbon, near Bicester, said: “It is a great morale boost for the staff.”

  • The four-strong Motor Neurone Disease clinic team at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Specialist practitioner Rachel Marsden, consultant Dr Martin Turner, occupational therapist Jenny Rolfe and consultant Prof Kevin Talbot, pictured from left, treat around 180 patients from across the south of England.
The MND clinic is known across England as a specialist centre for treating and researching the disease. MND is an incurable condition which sees the body's movement and motor nerve functions degenerate over time.
Mrs Marsden, 48, said: “It is tricky because people are given around the worst diagnoses you can imagine.
“We are breaking the news about such a terrible disease. But we can help them take the next stages of their lives in a productive way.”
They were nominated by dad-of-two from Cowley, Mark Stone.
The 53-year-old said: “They are a completely exceptional team on so many levels. They really do care for the patients of this dreadful, dreadful disease.”

  • The Intensive Care Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
     

The team of about 200 staff care for people in critical conditions.
Matron of the adult ICU Matt Holdaway, 37, said: “It is fantastic to get that sort of recognition from patients and their families.
“To be shortlisted is really exciting.”
They were nominated by Jenny Kidd, 44, from Abingdon, whose dad passed away at the unit on August 21.
She said: “They made sure he never lost his dignity. I’m overwhelmed at how amazing they were.”

  • Sobell House Hospice, based in the Churchill Hospital grounds.


The charity helps give end-of-life care for terminally ill residents across Oxfordshire.
Sobell House clinical lead Dr Mary Miller said: “We very much see ourselves as serving the local community.
“The vast majority of the patients we see come from Oxfordshire, so the nomination is a tribute from the community and something to be proud of.”
They were nominated by three relatives whose loved ones have been cared for by the hospice.